Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Cabin with a Carport

[GirlnAgarage]

Looks good! You'll need to remember to build a 97" doorway for storage, so you don't need to keep changing the ROPS position.

Thank you. Man, if it was my world all my doors would be 120" tall. My trucks hardly fit into any garage and I've had it!. lol . Right now I've got a tarp draped over the operator station to keep it clean. I am considering the idea of a temporary 10x20 shelter for the winter and building a tractor shed in the spring.

Very nice looking tractor. Do you think you’ll get anymore attachments?

Keep us updated on the tractor shed(garage) build too.

Of course she'll need more attachments. It's inevitable. Resistance is futile!

lol

captain14, yes, I absolutely do. Pallet forks are likely the next attachment, mostly to help me unload palletized things from an LTL delivery truck A grapple will be an eventuality which is why I had the tractor come with the 3rd function installed. With as much tree work done here for maintenance, a grapple with be useful. Also I am researching a post hole auger. I initially thought I'd get a 3pt post hole auger. But lately I've leaned towards a FEL quick attach mounted post hole auger. My flow rate is 11.7 gpm and there are augers made for that flow range. One such example is the Danuser EP615. It's made where that flow rate would be in a recommended operating range for the auger both speed and torque. It's that factors there that I'm not 100% certain renting the one from my equipment rental place would be ideal. They have a Blue Diamond EX4 and it prefers a higher flow range. It worked great on the Toolcat but I'm hesitant it'll be satisfactory on the tractor. Looking at their chart I see BD does make an EX1 model which is in the range. I can add it to my research list.

Depending on plans for the land I've tossed the idea of a small harrow disc and there's a 3pt hydraulic power rake that just looks plain awesome (but that's a huge jump from what I need here)

When you buy the fork attachment, make sure the fork plate has holes to see through. A friend has an LS with forks and you can’t see through it, it is massively annoying having to fork by braille.
When you are lifting something up front and a rear tire lifts up, you don’t have enough rear ballast. My 40hp tractor needs at least 1100lbs in the ballast box AND wheel weights/filled tires for max lift. The box blade by itself is a long way from enough weight.
I cheaped out and didn’t get the quickhitch initially, but within two months of fighting each implement I spent the money and now I don’t even have to get off the tractor to swap rear implements.

I will definitely keep that in mind. I noticed yesterday playing with high spot on a trail that it's hard to see the front of the bucket and I kept leaning off to one side or the other to catch a glimpse of the corner. I will need more skills practice to get a better feel for where everything is.

Good call on the rear ballast, the loader capacity on this is about 2500#. Would hate to find out the rodeo way I need some balance back there lol I am planning to fill the rear tires with antifreeze/water. In fact I've got a bucket of fluid that's been forgotten about for disposal that would be perfect to be included in the ballast job.

I also didn't get a quick hitch yet, but that is on the list. I am playing that one kind of like your path, that I'll get it once I'm tired of fighting with the implements lol

I appreciate the insight.

 

[Prospecter]

If you are looking at pallet forks, there are dedicated pallet forks that pin / quick attach in place of the bucket on the FEL. IMHO, these are to be preferred. I have used those on my daughter's tractor. They work better, and lift more. I have used the clamp on forks on my own tractor, and learned the hard way that they have a tendency to loosen up, and also to bend the bucket edge. YMMV

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Anybody know what the following images are of?

 

[XJSuperman]

Tractor time!

 

[Prospecter]

You've got the hang of that box scraper! And looks like just the right soil for it.

 

[captain14]

Someone was using their new tractor!

 

[68400BIRD]

Looks like you are working on what use to be the pond??

 

[GirlnAgarage]

The answer I was looking for was "learning". All those boo-boos, learning

But yes, it was tractor time playing with the new tool. It's got 7hrs now. I was moving some dirt out of the pond and relocating it to over the water line that runs from the house to the meter way out front. The line is underground pretty shallow in some areas so I added some dirt to thicken it up and give it better freeze protection along the route. I've got one section of exposed pipe in the creek that I need to address still.

The box scraper...half the time I forget to pick it up, a la picture #1 It woks good. I got in a lot of practice piling up the dirt then coming in to scoop it and carry it away. Finding level and scooping up the pile by feel is not easy. I can't even see the front corner of the bucket so it's all by feel and numbers of tries. The level guide bar on the loader arm helps. It's A point of reference for the bucket position, but it doesn't tell you how low the bucket is to the ground, that's by feel, or if your too high, not even scooping much or too low, gouging a new level, which is felt on the tractor. That's something these youtube videos don't show you, the learning. They seem to edit out all the learnings and only show the perfects. They give you some technical direction, 'oh you just gotta do XYZ and its good' but they don't show acquiring the skills to just do XYZ. Complicating the learning is working on hilly unlevel ground. That adds difficulty but if I get it figured out, should help my skills for the long run.

And the pond, there's water about 18" beneath the service last time I dug in there. I thought I might be able to move around but found out pretty quick I was sinking so I vacated and tried the box blade to drag out the sand that had silted in over the years. I'm not too concerned about tearing up the pond. It's shot anyway and will need a pro to rebuild it in the future.


Anyone have their Christmas list going yet? I'm starting to start mine. One of the items is a new 12" battery chainsaw. The Stihl 120c bought a year or so ago has been such a disappointment. The battery life on it is not that great. And I'm just not a fan of the thin guide bar and 1/4" narrow chain. I do use that saw for tougher jobs than it was intended. Definitely not "pruning" but I've used my Hatchet in ways it wasn't intended and it hasn't thrown in the towel. I'm leaning towards the Echo 2500T. It's a 12" bar battery powered unit. Seems to be getting great reviews and has the option of either the 3/8" chain or the 1/4" "nano" narrow chain. It's the electric option to the 2511T gas saw. Which it kind of enticing too, but I think for this application I need to stick with the battery. The purpose for this saw is to cut up felled trees that I can't finish limbing with the Hatchet and buck up as much as I can before the big saw it brought it for final clean up.

 

[Bob Heine]

Monica, I have to thank you again for showing the M12 Hatchet. I've cut trunks way thicker than its 6" bar could cut in one pass but it just works. Between it and the M18 Pole chainsaw I can take care of the trees that grow in our yard like weeds here in Hell's Waiting Room (aka Florida). I may have to buy another pole extension....

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Monica, I have to thank you again for showing the M12 Hatchet. I've cut trunks way thicker than its 6" bar could cut in one pass but it just works. Between it and the M18 Pole chainsaw I can take care of the trees that grow in our yard like weeds here in Hell's Waiting Room (aka Florida). I may have to buy another pole extension....

Absolutely Bob, I'm telling you, the Hatchet has been one of the best purchases ever.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Absolutely Bob, I'm telling you, the Hatchet has been one of the best purchases ever.

Bob, I just bought the 8"

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Fun update for the weekend - bought a new saw, fence is up on one front section of the property and holiday batch of tamales are in the freezer.

As yall saw in my reply to Bob, I bought the M18 8" Milwalkee saw. It ended up being kind of a fast purchase. Normally I hem-haw decisions for a while.
Well, what had happened was....I broke my 6" hatchet on Friday. Was limbing a dead oak that was felled and when under load the chain would stop. Oopsies. I can hear something in there still spinning under power though, but I'm not sure how that little guy is put together to guess what piece is wore out. I plan on tearing into it or seeing about sending it off for repair. I can't remember the warranty length but if it's 2 years then it's passed. I used the tar out of it. Gonna see if I can save it.

I went to the store intending to buy the 6" again. When I got there they have the 6" and 8"....for only a $10 difference I was a bit irritated. I hoped I'd find the 6" for around $200, but that was not so. The 6" was $269, the 8" $279. What pushed me over the edge to buy the 8" was they had a coupon deal for a free 8.0ah battery to go with. So, I figured I'd get it.

I haven't messed with the saw too much but did do a few test cuts and so far I'm excited to put it through it paces. First look appears that the 8" seems to improve on the 6" tool.



I'm happy to see the chain is a full house chain, like the 6". I think that makes the saw a little beast. I tried a different chain on the 6" and just didn't like it as much. Cut ok at first but it gets pretty rough as the chain wears. Not as nice of handling on the saw either.

The dogs are metal, compared to the plastic ones on the 6". They're sharp too, caught my finger on one wiping down the bar.




It has a rear loop, I'm guessing for the tree guys to attach it to their belt hooks while doing work. I don't see me using that in that way but it's a feature none the less.





The trigger safety switch is much improved, it's larger and easier to active and it is ambidexterous. Another immediately noticeable difference is the grip. It is narrower than the 6" and remains a consistent size throughout the handle. The 6" gets wider at the back. I'm curious how it'll affect grip fatigue - improve or hurt? Use will tell.

The battery is a big M18 battery. Physically big. With the battery installed and oil in the reservoir the saw weighs over 8lbs. Interestingly, the balance of the saw is nose heavy. It seems like that will be a good thing, for when it is cutting I can dig in the dogs and let the saw pivot and work forward.






And oh happy day another section of fence is installed. This was a short run, only 148'. After learning on 673' of the most uneven, most complicated section of the property - this was a cake walk. Attached the wires at the far post with Tclips, stretched it probably not even 2' to reach good tension then Tclipped it on the other post. Last bit was to attach the fence to the posts and it was done. Really happy to get this section in. The neighbors drove by and shouted words of encouragement "Looking good!" That was nice. When you do work up front by the street, everybody notices.

 

[Firebrick43]

Do they not drive the post to depth in texas?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Do they not drive the post to depth in texas?

What do you mean and who is they?


The vertical pipe posts are 10' long buried 4-5' and concreted in. How much deeper do you need them to go?

They was me and my bf. Can't find good help these days. There's pictures further back with using the Bobcat Toolcat to auger those holes.

Edit: out of curiosity I went back to see when I drilled those pst holes...July 11....JULY 11TH.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/cabin-with-a-carport.498476/post-10775203

Took 5 months to get that section finished. Ayeyeyeye

 

[Firebrick43]

What do you mean and who is they?


The vertical pipe posts are 10' long buried 4-5' and concreted in. How much deeper do you need them to go?

They was me and my bf. Can't find good help these days. There's pictures further back with using the Bobcat Toolcat to auger those holes.

Edit: out of curiosity I went back to see when I drilled those pst holes...July 11....JULY 11TH.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/cabin-with-a-carport.498476/post-10775203

Took 5 months to get that section finished. Ayeyeyeye

I saw the concrete on the corner post and surmised the corner post were dug in, but the tall corner post isn’t the concern.

The driven Tee post is what I was commenting about.

The top of the woven wire should be within an inch or two of the tee post.

If the post is just above the wire animals such as horses and cattle will get hurt but not impaled and killed.

Tall tee post kill a lot of deer jumping over fences.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I saw the concrete on the corner post and surmised the corner post were dug in, but the tall corner post isn’t the concern.

The driven Tee post is what I was commenting about.

The top of the woven wire should be within an inch or two of the tee post.

If the post is just above the wire animals such as horses and cattle will get hurt but not impaled and killed.

Tall tee post kill a lot of deer

Well how else will I get a deer without firing a shot?

I'm kidding..IM KIDDING for you game wardens out there...sheesh..

I see what you're looking at. The fence will have a top barbed wire so room was left. They're getting reflectors too being on the street side. The north fence is that way too (slightly tall). They will be knocked down specifically for the deer reason. Which is also incidentally why I didn't paint the tposts black.

I have a ton of deer moving through here on a regular basis, I share the idea of being a good steward of the resources. I appreciate you noticing the potential trouble spot

 

[Prospecter]

Hope you are logging some quality tractor time. Merry Christmas.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Hope you are logging some quality tractor time. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Happy New Year guys

Been a little bit since I posted. Just getting stuff done and being lazy about updating my thread.

Continuing fence work, been adding more tie wires to keep the fence on the posts on the north line. As much as that seems like a given, it's a time consuming, tedious task with 51 total posts to attach woven wire to. It's coming along. More to do. Also about the fence, got the pig tails of the fence splice sections tucked away with Gripple Twisters. I literally ******* the loose ends. It was a small thing but made a difference tidying up the fence.

I have been spending time on the tractor. Although seems like I have been slacking and could be doing more, I have just under 20hrs and a 5gal fill of diesel (pain in the ****). In those 20hrs I got a lot more comfortable using the box blade and loader bucket. Pretty much everything is practice. Can't get better if you don't do.

I regraded the driveway in preparation to lay down some new gravel. That went smoothly, even if I ripped out the old fiber optic line and conduit. Oopsies, but it shouldn't have been that shallow anyway. No big deal, that line went out the week I moved in. The electric guys came out a trenched a new a different route, and a little deeper too.

I graded and leveled an area in the back behind the pond dam. It was a transition area that was hilly and lumpy for an unknown reason. It would rattle the contents out of the utv every time it was traveled. That had to get fixed so I fixed it.

I moved some dirt to fill in the low spots on a few areas on the north fence line. Ideally I would have leveled the fence line before installing the posts in prep for a nice flat surface to line up with the bottom of the fence. But I didn't have the means. I do next time. I used same sand pulled from the pond clean out and from what looks like just a pile from the original pond build. On that hill I got to practice using the float feature to smooth out the area that I took dirt from. So, that was good learning. Then I went arounds floating on everything!

I'm spending a lot of time right now splitting firewood. Had the tree guy come last week to fell 8 dead standing trees that were too close to stuff I didn't want to destroy. I am pleased with how the wood looks. It isn't rotted and looks like it's ahead of any termite or beetle infestation. Noting the timing of when the trees died and when they were brought down is a helpful marker for me. Up until this point, dead trees being brought down were rotted, and eaten up/infested. It tells me that the previous owner of this place let dead trees go for several years. I'm finally catching up to my maintenance rotation and getting done dealing with work from his watch on the place. Finally some headway that can be seen.

With all the firewood comes all the processing and I've been able to use the heck out of my new 8" hatchet. I really like this thing. The chain speed is significantly better than the 6" hatchet. It seems to bounce less too. The battery life very good. I worked for several hours breaking down branches, limbs and cleaning up bucks before they went on the splitter and when I can in and put the battery on the charger, after a few minutes it's turned green. That blows my mind. So far I'm very happy with the new saw.

I mentioned putting 5gal of diesel n the tractor. It was a challenge to lift and pour the 5gal can with one hand. I had to back the tractor along side the tailgate and stand up there to fill. I think what I will do is get a battery operated pump. I have a fluid hand pump, but using it is hard with one hand. The battery pumps get ok reviews and ought to do what I need without making a mess.

Lastly, I'm fixing to order my FEL post hold auger for the tractor. I'm leaning towards the Danuser EP615 model. I really can't find much significant feedback on any models so I'll have to bite the bullet and find out.

With all the work and a new machine to use I've had a bit of choosing to do between driving the tractor or the utv. It's kind of a first world problems problem to have, but here I am. With the tasks I do I'm keeping a pros/cons list in my head as I do the work. I know it's a common question when people start buying machines for their property - what do I get, a tractor or utv first? And it depends on the tasks. And while each can do some of the same tasks, the ways in which they do the task are a little different and will still require user input, just what kind of input does the user feel like doing. Deep, right?

Oh, I also made a batch of lump charcoal. I'm low and haven't made any in a while. Time to restock.

Anyway, I gotta throw laundry in the dryer. Until next time.

 

[zanyad]

Good morning, @GirlnAgarage! Hope you're well, haven't heard from you in a while. How's the fence coming? Tractor still keeping up?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Good morning, @GirlnAgarage! Hope you're well, haven't heard from you in a while. How's the fence coming? Tractor still keeping up?

Good morning, I'm well, how are you?

Things are good, weather has been very hot down here. Had great rain in July but come August it was back to same old hot. The tractor is doing what I need. I guess looking at my last update I hadn't chosen a post hole auger yet. Well I did and have used it a lot. Fence is along, 3 sections are up and that's where I'll leave it. The fourth side will have to be sorted out by a new owner. The gate entry posts are up, pending one more post hole to dig, it's the post that's directly over a tree that was brought down. After that post is up, then I can put the horizontals on, then string fence or panel, then hang the permanent gate.

I'm going out here after I get dressed to work on the truck, got to sort out a wheel weight that is rubbing on the brake caliper. Recently installed new shocks, steering damper, rotated the tires.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Coming in today to close out Cabin with a Carport.
Thanks yall for coming in to check out the projects. I'll be off to other things; good things, new things...bigger things.
Will bring yall in when the time is right. Right now I'm trying to keep hang of the tiger by tail.